Jones is characterized by his iconic accoutrements (bullwhip, fedora, satchel,[12] and leather jacket), wry, witty and sarcastic sense of humor, deep knowledge of ancient civilizations and languages, and fear of snakes.
Since his first appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones has become one of cinema's most famous characters. In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked him the second-greatest film hero of all time.[13] He was also named the greatest movie character by Empire magazine.[14]Entertainment Weekly ranked Jones 2nd on their list of The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture.[15]Premiere magazine also placed Jones at number 7 on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.[16]
(1992–1996)
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
(1984)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1989)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(2008)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
(May 23, 1866 – May 5, 1945) – American diplomat, antiquarian and novelist. Banks is credited with the sale of an ancient cuneiform tablet famously known as Plimpton 322 proving the Babylonians beat the Greeks to the invention of trigonometry—the study of triangles—by more than 1,000 years.[68]
professor, historian, US senator, and explorer Hiram Bingham III, (1875–1956) who rediscovered and excavated the lost city of Machu Picchu,[70] and chronicled his find in the bestselling book The Lost City of the Incas in 1948.[71]
the celebrated American scout and British Army spy who heavily influenced Haggard's fictional Allan Quatermain character and also became the inspiration for the Boy Scouts.[74][75]
Frederick Russell Burnham
British Percy Fawcett, who spent much of his life exploring the jungles of northern Brazil, and who was last seen in 1925 returning to the Amazon Basin to look for the Lost City of Z. A fictionalized version of Fawcett appears to Jones in the book Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils.[7]
Ark of Nabratein synagogue, found in 1981, inviting comparisons of discoverers Eric and Carol Meyers to Indy and Marion.[78][79]Duke University biblical scholar, archeologist, and Bernice and Morton Lerner Emeritus Professor in Judaic Studies Eric M. Meyers, who with his wife and Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies Carol Lyons Meyers uncovered the oldest known remnant of an ark found to date. It was unearthed at Nabratein synagogue in Israel around the time Raiders was released,[80] prompting media interest and a cosplay photo of the Meyers as Indy and Marion in People magazine.[81]
American archaeologist and adventurer led well-publicized expeditions in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula in the 1940s and 1950s.[83]
Wendell Phillips
American chess expert and adventurer , a Manhattan Chess Club member who innovated the 2 Knights Defense, and went on expeditions into South America.[84]
(1930–2010) led digs in Israel searching for the holy ark. He discovered items identified as the Temple incense and a clay vessel for holy anointing oil.[87] In his 2005 book A Door of Hope: My Search for the Treasures of the Copper Scroll, he discusses the similarities.[88]
Vendyl Jones
The fedora was supplied by in England for the first three films.[90] An Australian model was used by costume designer Deborah Landis to show hat maker Richard Swales the details when making the iconic hat from "the Poets" parts.[91] The fedora for Crystal Skull was made by Steve Delk and Marc Kitter of the Adventurebilt Hat Company of Columbus, Mississippi.[92]
Herbert Johnson Hatters
The leather jacket, a hybrid of the "Type 440" and the , was made by Leather Concessionaires (now known as Wested Leather Co.) for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, jackets were made in-house at Bermans & Nathans in London based on a stunt jacket they provided for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tony Nowak made the jacket for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.[93]
A-2 jacket
The Indiana Jones shirt is based on a typical safari-style shirt. Its distinctive feature is two vertical strips running from the shoulders to the bottom of the shirt tails and continued over both breast pockets. A common debate regards the original shirt color. Surviving samples of the original shirts seem to be darker in reality than they appear on screen. Most fans look for an off-white "stone" color for their replicas. The original shirts, however, may have been more of a "tan" or "natural" color. The shirt varied little from film to film, the only notable difference being the darker buttons in Temple of Doom and Last Crusade. Originally designed by Andreas Dometakis for the films, this shirt was once one of the hardest pieces of gear to find.
The trousers worn by Indiana Jones in all five films were based on original World War II Army and Army Air Corps officer trousers. Although not original Pinks they are based on the same basic design and do carry a slight pinkish hue. The trousers made for Raiders are said to be more of a greyish-brown whereas the trousers made for Temple of Doom and Last Crusade were supposedly a purer reddish brown. The trousers were made of a khaki wool-twill, pleated with seven belt loops, two scalloped button flap rear pockets, a button fly and a four-inch military style hem. They were all most likely subcontracted by the costume department and made by famed London based cinema costumers, Angels and Bermans, to be tailored perfectly for Harrison Ford for the production.
The was a modified Mark VII gas mask bag that was used by British troops and civilians during World War II.
satchel
The whip was an 8- to 10-foot (2.4 to 3.0 m) crafted by David Morgan for the first three films. The whips for Crystal Skull were crafted by a variety of people, including Terry Jacka, Joe Strain and Morgan (different lengths and styles were likely used in specific stunts).
bullwhip
The pistol was usually a -era revolver, including the Webley Government (WG) Revolver (Last Crusade and Crystal Skull), or a Smith & Wesson Second Model Hand Ejector revolver (Raiders). He has also used a Colt Official Police revolver (Temple of Doom), a Nagant M1883 (Young Indiana Jones), and a 9 mm Browning Hi-Power (Raiders).[94] The weapon is carried in a military pattern flap holster.
World War I
The shoes were made by . A stock style (model 405) that had been a favorite of Ford's before the films, they are still sold today (though in a redder (brick) shade of brown than seen in the films) and are popularly known as "Indy Boots."[95]
Alden
Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas, the costume designer gave the character a distinctive silhouette through the styling of the hat; after examining many hats, the designers chose a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora. As a documentary of Raiders pointed out, the hat served a practical purpose. Following the lead of the old "B"-movies that inspired the Indiana Jones series, the fedora hid the actor's face sufficiently to allow doubles to perform the more dangerous stunts seamlessly. Examples in Raiders include the wider-angle shot of Indy and Marion crashing a statue through a wall, and Indy sliding under a fast-moving vehicle from front to back. Thus it was necessary for the hat to stay in place much of the time.
The hat became so iconic that the filmmakers could only come up with very good reasons or jokes to remove it. If it ever fell off during a take, filming would have to stop to put it back on. In jest, Ford put a stapler against his head to stop his hat from falling off when a documentary crew visited during shooting of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This created the urban legend that Ford stapled the hat to his head.[89] Anytime Indy's hat accidentally came off as part of the storyline (blown off by the wind, knocked off, etc.) and seemed almost irretrievable, filmmakers would make sure Indy and his hat were always reunited, regardless of the implausibility of its return. Although other hats were also used throughout the films, the general style and profile remained the same. Elements of the outfit include:
The fedora and leather jacket from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.[96] The collecting of props and clothing from the films has become a thriving hobby for some aficionados of the franchise.[97] Jones' whip was the third most popular film weapon, as shown by a 2008 poll held by 20th Century Fox, which surveyed approximately two thousand film fans.[98]
Originally, Spielberg suggested Harrison Ford; Lucas resisted the idea, since he had already cast the actor in American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, and did not want Ford to become known as his "Bobby De Niro" (in reference to the fact that fellow director Martin Scorsese regularly casts Robert De Niro in his films).[52] During an intensive casting process, Lucas and Spielberg auditioned many actors, and finally cast actor Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. Shortly afterward pre-production began in earnest on Raiders of the Lost Ark.[52]CBS refused to release Selleck from his contractual commitment to Magnum, P.I., forcing him to turn down the role.[52] Shooting for the film could have overlapped with the pilot for Magnum, P.I. but it later turned out that filming of the pilot episode was delayed and Selleck could have done both.[99]
Subsequently, Peter Coyote and Tim Matheson both auditioned for the role. After Spielberg suggested Ford again, Lucas relented, and Ford was cast in the role less than three weeks before filming began.[52]
The industry magazine Archaeology named eight past and present archaeologists who they felt "embodied [Jones's] spirit" as recipients of the Indy Spirit Awards in 2008.[100] That same year Ford himself was elected to the board of directors for the Archaeological Institute of America. Commenting that "understanding the past can only help us in dealing with the present and the future," Ford was praised by the association's president for his character's "significant role in stimulating the public's interest in archaeological exploration."[101]
He is perhaps the most influential character in films that explore archaeology. Since the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, the very idea of archaeology and archaeologists has fundamentally shifted. Prior to the film's release, the stereotypical image of an archaeologist was that of an older, lackluster professor type. In the early years of films involving archaeologists, they were portrayed as victims who would need to be rescued by a more masculine or heroic figure.[102] Following 1981, the stereotypical archaeologist was thought of as an adventurer consistently engaged in fieldwork.[103]
Archeologist Anne Pyburn described the influence of Indiana Jones as elitist and sexist, and argued that the film series had caused new discoveries in the field of archaeology to become oversimplified and overhyped in an attempt to gain public interest, which negatively influences archaeology as a whole.[104] Eric Powell, an editor with the magazine Archaeology, said "O.K., fine, the movie romanticizes what we do", and that "Indy may be a horrible archeologist, but he's a great diplomat for archeology. I think we'll see a spike in kids who want to become archeologists".[100] Kevin McGeough, associate professor of archaeology, describes the original archaeological criticism of the film as missing the point of the film: "dramatic interest is what is at issue, and it is unlikely that film will change in order to promote and foster better archaeological techniques".[102]
